Infestation
by SharpShooter626
Summary: Riley unwillingly gets more than he bargained for while trying to deal with a small insect infestation. Eek.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not my characters! I'm just molding them… like play-do. I LOVE play-do. There're some curses, not many. I try to tone it down, but still keep most of the foul language. Anyhoo, here you go! Tell me what you guys think!

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Riley crouched down, his eyes glazing over in what one could only hope was intense thought. The subject of his interest was a trail of ants, one by one moving across the sidewalk. Their movements were quick and jittery, but other than that they all walked the same direction and were, supposedly, going to the same place. The only problem was that "same place" was through a hole that led directly to his kitchen. Normally he wouldn't bother himself with such matters, but this time was different. This time his granddad had, not too politely, ordered him to "Get those damn ants out my kitchen, boy! Now!"  
So he had reluctantly made his way outside, a magnifying glass clutched tightly in his right hand. Huey had once told him that in order to eliminate a problem, one has to first find its source, and right now Riley could bet that the "source" was going to take a while to find. With a heavy sigh he began to trace back to where the ants where coming from. Then from there he would nuke them to hell. Down the block, past this boy, Matt's house, through the park and finally – there it was – the biggest ant hill Riley had ever seen.  
It looked like something out of a horror movie, its sandy walls rising to at least a foot off the ground. Ants poured out of it like a peppery eruption. He gasped and watched as they branched off in five different directions. It amazed him that the ants had singled his house out. He had to have passed at least fifteen houses along the way. For a moment he considered following another stream of ants to see where they went, but he remembered his original plan.

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Huey Freeman lounged lazily on the couch, both feet propped on a pillow; a newspaper erected flimsily in front of him. It was an easy way to spend a spring day.

**BLACK MAN ASPIRES TO BECOME A PRIEST**

The headline shot out at him and he tiredly rubbed his eyes at the sight of "Uncle Ruckus" smiling widely at the camera. The man was insane.

"Huey…" It was Riley, he knew immediately and for that he didn't look up; he didn't even bother to answer. "Huey." His younger brother tried again, this time sounding more resolved. With a sigh, Huey looked over the paper and down at Riley.

"This better not be stupid." He said simply.

"How're you supposed to stop something that's bigger than you?" Riley asked calmly. Huey folded the paper, surprised by the question. "Stage a protest." He answered, not sure what the discussion was about.

"I don't think that's gonna work. Ya' see… I tracked the problem back to its source, like you told me to, but its source is too big." Huey was shocked that Riley had actually listened to him.

"Well…" Huey began, but was interrupted when Grandad ran in, broom in hand and gave Riley a good hit on the head with the end.

"Boy! Why ain't you fixin' that ant problem! These things don't just go away on their own!" He said, ending each word with another hard hit. Riley threw his hands up, trying his best to shield himself from the particularly painful blows.

"Ow! Jeez Grandad! I'm going! I'm going!" He cried, racing to the door.

"Ya' see? That's how you properly motivate a boy." Grandad said proudly. Huey just rolled his eyes and hopped off the couch.

"What ant problem?" He asked, heading slowly for the door.

"That hole your brother made in the wall is lettin' ants in. I don't take too kindly to unwanted visitors." Grandad responded, heading back into the kitchen. Huey went out the front door, intending to find Riley and was surprised when he almost tripped over the younger boy who was crouched just outside.

"What're you doing?" He asked as Riley straightened up.

"Damn ants," Was all he said. He shook his head and sighed. "For things that're that small," Riley gestured with two fingers. "They sure do know how to ruin a good day."

"Why don't you just fix the hole in the kitchen?" Huey asked, studying Riley's face.

"Oh yeah…" He said, rushing back into the house. "Thanks Huey!" 

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At dinner Grandad dropped a huge plate of… something… on the table. The thing that stood out the most in the pile of mush was the unmistakable peppering of tiny dead ants throughout it.

"Uh, Grandad…" Huey began, forking the disgusting-anty mush.

"Don't touch that boy!" Grandad said, batting Huey's hand away. "This is for Riley… who so "kindly" fixed our ant problem. All eyes now on Riley, Huey noted how nervous he looked.

"I ain't eatin' that shit!" He said rebelliously. "Ain't my fault there're ants in that." 

"Oh I beg to differ, boy. _Somebody _took the cabinet door off its hinges and put it over that damn hole in the wall. Is that what you call fixin' the problem!?" Grandad shouted, the veins on his forehead showing thickly. "Now eat that or I ain't gonna feed you anymore!"

Riley looked grimly down that the plate and noticed that some of the ants were still twitching. "It just looks like mushed up bread," He said after a moment. Then his eyes widened and he swallowed painfully. "I can't eat that." He said timidly.

"The hell you can't! If you gonna just waste my time then go to your room, now!" Grandad yanked the plate away, spilling some of its contents onto the table. Huey half expected Riley to protest, but he just simply slid out of his chair and headed up the steps.

Once he was gone, Grandad went into the kitchen and returned with takeout – some sort of hamburgers and a salad which Huey took.

"Don't you think you were a little rough on him?" Huey asked after a few minutes of silence. Grandad took a sip of his drink and shook his head.

"Boy ain't never gonna learn if you don't teach him," He justified himself. Huey shrugged and left.

Creaking open the door, he peered into the darkness and could only faintly make out the form of Riley lying on the bed.

"You okay?" He asked, making his way fully into the room but not bothering to turn the light on. When Riley didn't answer Huey approached the bed. "Riley," He tried again.

"'mm hungry," His younger brother mumbled, his face buried in the pillow.

"Maybe if you fix the cabinet and then fix the hole with somethin' a little less important, Grandad will let you eat." Huey suggested and smiled lightly at Riley's expression.

"Yeah! That's a good idea." Huey watched Riley leave, unable to stop the rush of sentimental feeling. He couldn't help it. In a way, Riley was all he had left. Huey hated thinking that way – thinking about the way life used to be. Though, no matter how much he hated it, he could always fall back on the fact that Riley hated it ten times more. The younger boy never mentioned their parents.

Riley used to cry at night. He'd never admit it, but he did. They were times that Huey tried not to look back on, tried not to remember the painful nights where Riley would curl up against him and sob, asking the darkness why it had to happen to them – why, out of all the people in the world, God had to take away the two he loved the most. Then, on the last night at Grandad's before they would move, Riley suddenly changed.

Instead of dwelling on what he didn't have anymore, he focused on what remained – Huey.

Huey was shaken out of his thoughts by a loud crash. Leaping up, he ran out of the room and down the hallway, almost smashing into Grandad on the way.

"God damn it boy what you think you're doin'!?" He shouted, waving his fist menacingly. "And if that's your brother down there tryin' to get food, tell him it's no use. I locked everything up."

"Uh, sure." Huey answered lightly, watching Grandad retreat back into his room. As soon as he was sure the coast was clear, Huey dashed downstairs.

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Riley walked slowly through the darkened house, his mind turning over every possible thing he could fix the wall with. It only took him a minute to figure out that the good stuff was probably in the basement, so he headed there.

Listening closely for Grandad, Riley crept passed the fridge, noting the locks on it and made his way toward the basement steps. He creaked the door open and – taking it one step at a time – walked down the stairs. He could feel the dust collecting on his socks. No one ever went down the basement. Now that he thought about it, he'd actually only been down in the basement once.

Unable to find the lights, he shrugged and kept going. Only little kids were afraid of the dark. Riley got to the bottom of the steps and allowed his eyes time to adjust before he continued on. He'd need to be able to see the wood to get it. After a few hard blinks, he scanned the darkened and dusty room. It was chilly in the basement and all the walls were littered with boxes. Mostly things that were never unpacked once they moved like extra blankets and almost useless kitchen appliances.

Finally Riley's gaze landed on a piece of thick wood on top of a stack of boxes. He recognized it as the wood that held his and Huey's air conditioner in because he wrote their names on it. He approached the boxes and cursed his height. They were too heavy and stacked too high for him to move them, so he opted instead to climb up. Wrapping his arms around the smelly cardboard, he began his unsteady ascent.

The boxes wobbled dangerously and when Riley reached the half way point, things went wrong. In order to get a better grip, he wrapped his right arm around a box and began repositioning himself when suddenly his arm erupted in pain. At first it felt like a pinch, something small and easy to handle but the pain only got worse from there. He withdrew his hand so fast that the box came with it – everything came with it and in one simple instant all the boxes and Riley plunged to the ground.

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Hearing no further noise only added into Huey's sense of urgency. He went right for the basement, coming to the same conclusion as Riley. Huey took the stairs two at a time, leaping the rest of the way as soon as he got close enough. One more jump and he clicked the light on causing the small chain that controlled the devise to swing about.

"Riley!" Huey called, immediately noticing the small hand poking out of a pile of boxes. Knowing better than to just grab it and pull his younger brother out, he carefully began taking the boxes out of the pile until all of Riley was in sight. Huey crouched down and touched his shoulder lightly. "Riley?"

"Aww man." Riley moaned without opening his eyes.

"You okay?"

"'Course I am." He sighed and then opened his eyes, they were fiery with uncontrolled anger. In one swift motion Riley was on his feet and kicking furiously at the boxes. Huey stood too, reaching out but not entirely sure how to handle the situation. 

"God damn!" Riley cried, kicking a box that, from the sound of it, held plates or glasses.

"Riley, calm down!" Huey demanded, grabbing the younger boy and yanking him back. Riley struggled and elbowed him in the face. Huey let go, more from shock than anything. 

"No!" Riley screamed - his voice loud enough that Huey was sure that every resident on Timid Deer Lane could hear. "I will not calm down! Everything has to be hard! Why couldn't it be easy?! Why couldn't the stupid piece of wood just be on the ground?" As Riley's rant went on, it seemed to die off – his words becoming less forceful. He kicked another box and crossed his arms, but almost instantly after doing so, he grimaced. 

"Well," Huey began, choosing his words very carefully. "You got the wood down."

Riley's whipped around, his eyes landing quickly on the wood that was now sticking out of the bottoms of a few boxes. The younger boy stomped over to the wood, still angry that he had to get it by knocking nearly everything in the basement over.

He reached out for the wood but stopped. Huey leaned in; trying to see what had stopped his brother. A few seconds passed until Riley reached again, taking the wood awkwardly.

"Let me see." Huey commanded as he took a step forward. Riley held out the wood innocently but Huey just stared, schooling his anger. "Not the wood, Riley." He said, even though he knew that Riley was just playing dumb. "Your hand."

"Man, what you talkin' about?" Riley's voice didn't waver, but his choice to revert back to his normal lingo only raised Huey's suspicion. It was surprising how articulate Riley could be when he forgot about looking cool; of course Huey knew it was a front. Riley was smart, he just chose not to show it.

"Oh there's nothing wrong? Then tell me… when did you become left handed." Huey kept his face stony – even as Riley blanched. Seeing no end to this, Huey took action. He swiftly knocked the wood from Riley's hand, grabbed a hold of his other and wrenched it forward. It was a small wound, only slightly bleeding. Why had Riley tried to hide it? 

"Come on." Huey said, but Riley pulled away.

"Wait." He said, and ran over to the wood. On his way back from getting it, he reached into a cabinet and pulled out a hammer and a small jar of nails. "I ain't gonna miss breakfast tomorrow." 

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So!!! It's kinda… uh, I dunno. I like it. Expect three more chapter. Also expect this to be the longest night of Huey and Riley's life. . I love Grandad by the way.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews guys!! They really get me motivated. Anyhoo! Here you go!

Chapter two.

Huey re-entered the room carrying a small first aid kit. One quick sweep of the kitchen showed him where his brother was – sitting on a stool pulled up to the kitchen counter. The large seat dwarfed him, and the even bigger sweatshirt he'd put on didn't help. Riley looked so pale to Huey's eyes. Maybe it was the lighting…

"Here," He said, coming to stand beside Riley, and taking the younger boy's hand. "I'm just going to put some peroxide on it and a band aid."

"But it ain't bleedin' no more." Riley said, sounding oddly defensive.

"That doesn't matter. It will help keep germs from getting near it and it'll help it heal faster.

"Mhm." Riley mumbled, obviously disinterested. "Can I just go fix the wall?"

"Why don't you let it wait until tomorrow?" Huey asked, just wanting to go to bed, but not entirely sure he should leave Riley alone again.

"No way! Grandad won't let me eat tomorrow if I wait, and besides, I'm wide awake." Riley said, but didn't pay any attention to Huey. He just kept his eyes glued to the window. Maybe he didn't want to look at the cut that was getting cleaned. Huey held back a laugh. Yeah right. Riley jumped at the chance to show off a new scar. Why would this be any different?

"You do know that it's almost 1 in the morning. Grandad is gonna kill you if he hears someone hammering down here." Huey said, trying to hide his fatigue. He'd often stayed up late battling insomnia, but this night felt promising. Sleep was in his immediate future.

"I'll just do it outside. I got everything I need. I'm gonna do it no matter what you say." The rebellious side of Riley was poking its ugly head.

"Whatever." Huey groaned as he finished and cleaned up all of the trash. Riley didn't bother with anything else; he just grabbed the necessary tools and went out the back door.

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Riley didn't wait to let his eyes adjust this time. He knew every obstacle in the back yard and could dodge them easily. When he got to the hole, he sighed and dropped the tools. It wasn't easy hiding the pain from Huey – especially when he was looking right at him. Riley had resorted to just looking out the window and focusing on something else, hoping that his brother wouldn't see.

Riley sat down on the damp grass and held back a moan. The pain in his arm was growing close to unbearable. The stunt in the basement was nothing compared to this. Another sigh and Riley looked up, thanking anyone who cared enough to listen. It was a close call, but Huey didn't seem to notice. Maybe it was the dim lighting of the basement. The real wound Riley was trying to hide was not an easy thing to miss. Just above his wrist – red, raw, and swelling, was what was really causing him all the pain.

He'd gotten it earlier – before dinner. At first he wasn't sure what it was, but as time passed he settled on it being a bite of some sort.

The night drug on and Riley did the best he could at fixing the hole. Two things made it particularly difficult. One was the constant throbbing in his right arm, and the other was that the whole neighborhood was sleeping. It was hard to hammer something on a street so quiet. As time passed, Riley added a third thing to the list. Sickness.

It started with a slight bout of dizziness, and soon escaladed.

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Huey laid completely still, trying to calm his mind. Sleep was never easy for him. He let his thoughts wonder through the day and what tomorrow would be like. Just when he could feel sleep beckoning, the door creaking open – jarring his mind and waking his whole body up. Damnit. He knew it was Riley, but still his body was alert. He'd never be able to sleep now.

"H-huey?" Normally Huey would've ignored Riley. Normally he would've willed himself to forget his brother was even there. Waking him up was never a nice thing to do. But this time was different. Huey grew up with Riley – grew up with Riley's voice, and he could hear a stutter from a mile away.

Huey sat up quickly, turning toward Riley and taking his brother's appearance in. He was slumped over, gripping the bed sheets. His whole face looked tired, and the way he kept blinking his eyes tightly made him seem drugged. So many things ran through Huey's mind, and yet he could not bring himself to even speak.

"I'm sorry." Riley was breaking down. Huey could see the sparkle of tears beginning to form in his eyes – and still he couldn't say anything. A few moments passed and the younger boy seemed to compose himself.

"What's wrong?" Huey was surprised to hear his own voice. It was deeper… strange sounding. Riley didn't answer. He just looked down and gripped his arm – his arm! "Is it your cut?" Huey would be shocked if that were it. Riley wasn't a baby, and a small wound like that would never faze him, at least not enough to cry.

"Sorta…" Riley answered but still didn't make eye-contact. Huey was about to press for more information when, for the second time that night, he heard a loud crash.

"God damnit!" Grandad's voice, although slightly muffled, was loud and easy to understand. "Who left all of these tools in the middle of the hallway!?" The door swung open before either boy could move and Grandad stumbled into the room holding a hammer. "And what the hell are you two still doing up! I set a bedtime for a reason!"

Huey took a sideways glance at Riley and noted how the younger boy looked… better. The original tiredness he'd seen was gone and now replaced with a wry smile.

"How do you know when we go to bed, Grandad? You never come in here to check." Riley said. Grandad looked furious.

"Now ain't the time to be questioning me, boy!" Grandad shouted, but his face changed immediately to confusion. "Why're you wearing my favorite sweatshirt? And what did you get all over the sleeve!" Grandad advanced forward. Huey could feel Riley press against the bed.

"I didn't do nothin'! I just put it on 'cause it was cold! I m-must'a got d-dirt on the sleeve." Riley was shaking. Why?

"He put it on to go out and fix the wall, Grandad. That's all." Huey tried to help.

"Yeah, yeah," Grandad backed off, taking the excuse. "But you'd better wash that tomorrow, boy. I want it to be spotless. AND GO TO BED!" he added as he stepped out of the room. He continued mumbling things but Huey already turned to Riley.

"What was that all about?"

"I… I…," But Huey interrupted him after taking one look at the sleeve.

"That's not dirt." He said, squinting at Riley's arm. It wasn't a question, but still Huey expected an answer. Riley only backed away from him.

"Wh-what else could it be, huh? Man, Huey, you gotta get your eyes checked or somethin'." Huey didn't waste any time. He had to catch Riley by surprise. With a quick leap off the bed, he tackled the boy before he could move any farther away. "Get off!!" Riley cried out. His voice was high with desperation, and yet he hardly struggled to get Huey off. In one quick motion, Huey pulled the sleeve up and gasped.

"What happened? Is this from the basement?" Huey asked, ignoring Riley's command. The only thing that he showed interest in was the awful looking wound on his younger brother's arm. It was red, swollen, and so big that it was taking up nearly his entire arm. A small trickle of blood was oozing from the center point. Huey cringed.

"Where did you get this, Riley!?" Huey didn't even bother to lower his voice. He was angry.

"I d-don't know!" Riley stuttered back.

"Lying! Stop lying!" He didn't mean to be so angry – it just hurt him that Riley didn't show him this before. There was no logic at all in hiding it, so why had he?

"I don't –" 

"Yes you do!!" Huey was surprised Grandad wasn't coming storming in with all of the noise.

"Something bit me!" It got quiet. Huey managed to calm himself ever so slightly. He shifted himself, still on top of Riley, into a more comfortable position.

"What bit you?" Huey asked quietly.

"I don't –" Riley stopped at Huey's gaze. The anger was flaring up again. "I really don't know! I didn't even think it was a bite at first." Huey sighed and pulled himself up, but left his little brother on the floor.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

"Fine."

"Riley…" Huey said, trying as hard as he could not to grind his teeth. The boy infuriated him.

"Okay, not so good. But I ain't goin' to no hospital, Huey, and you can't make me."

"Well I'm gonna go get Grandad." Riley's expression immediately changed.

"No! Please don't!" He was panicking.

"Riley, I have to. This bite looks serious. You need to go to the hospital." Huey watched Riley's face fall. At least he was accepting it. "Now can I trust you to stay here, or are you going to disappear?" Riley didn't answer and again Huey sighed.

He stepped over to his bedside table and opened the drawer. After a moment of rummaging around, and found what he was looking for and pulled away – a pair of handcuffs dangled from his finger. "Come here."

Riley reluctantly stood. He wobbled at first, and for a second Huey thought he'd fall back down, but he managed to get his balance and walk over to him. Huey clicked one cuff into place around Riley's wrist – his left one to not make his bite hurt even more - and made sure it was secure. He then put the other one around a pipe on the radiator. "I'll be right back."

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Riley held back a scream as Huey left the room. He didn't want to go to the hospital. He hated them, but he knew when he needed help. He sighed and looked down. Blood rushed to his head and for a brief second that felt like an eternity everything went black.

When the world came back into focus, he first noticed he was on the floor. He tried to sit up, but felt an awful pain shoot through his handcuffed arm. He looked up. The pipe was so high up that his arm was nearly bent backwards it was so straight up. He tried putting some of the weight on his other arm, but found that to be even worse. He hissed and started to position himself better with his knees.

Working through the pain, Riley managed to sit up, but it proved to be not the best move when everything went black again. This time, however, the world didn't come back.

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Not the longest chapter, but meh. I think maybe two more chapters, so get ready. WOO. Lol. Bye.


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